Even though it is something about 2 meters below a sea level and the land surrounding it is as flat as it gets, this spectacular city will certainly get you high. However in this case, I’m not talking about fully legalised marihuana.
Ever since I
stepped out of the plane, I was amazed by the glamour that the whole city has
been overflown with. First, there have been plenty of Tesla motors, disguised
as taxi cars greeting the tourists with the silent patience. I was truly
surprised by the vast majority of electric cars, even though Amsterdam is
famous for its support and contribution in finding alternative ways of
transport and electricity. This brings us to another type of transport, also
typically associated with Amsterdam – cycling.
As we moved from
the airport towards the city center – which didn’t take a long time at all, for
the city has just about 150 square km – I’ve tried taking my eyes off the huge screen
inside of the taxi, replacing all the buttons and GPS, and started noticing
increasing amount of bikes swishing around us.
Amsterdam is the one city where the amount of bikes
outnumbered the citizens with over one million of them, each different color,
shape and accessorize. This one had tulips in the basket. That one was glowing.
Oh look, there is one with a…wait what? Yes, it was a bar. Around 8 people on
one huge bike pedalling as for their lives so they could enjoy their beer,
except for one who was just steering.
People of Amsterdam split into three groups - the ones
driving electric cars, the ones riding a bike, and the pedestrians. Anyone else
is either a tourist or an alien, and even those are expected to adapt to these
unwritten rules.
Despite bikers
having a huge privileges and benefits, I very much enjoyed walking around the
whole city. Fortunately, in Netherlands, sun is the always-present guest, and
if you combine it with the colors of the spectrum on all the bikes, it creates
a playful scenario. Main role also play flowers decorating each window of each
house. It almost diverts attention from the illusion of falling buildings. No
camera can capture the feeling you get standing next to one of those. Every now and then I had a sudden urge to
scream in panic and support the buildings with my bare hands (I wonder how many
people would’ve joined me).
As a well-known
serial flower-killer, I kept away from buying any vegetation for a really long
time. Nonetheless here, on the flower market, not even I could resist buying a
bunch of exotic plants and small trees, bonsais and tulips to which I believe
not even the almighty Internet have care instructions. Famous Bloemenmarkt is a
net of independent stands flourishing with a mixture of all kinds of scents and
colors.
Right when I was
thinking this place couldn’t get any better, I decided to try the national
Dutch dish and then it hit me. Two words: French fries. That’s it, I’m moving.
Each day people were forming into 20 min queue leading to small stand with just
one dish, yet with 20 different sauces. I couldn’t help my curiosity, so I
waited. And waited. And waited, until I finally got into my hands a purple cone
filled with golden goodness and a homemade mayo. After a first bite I decided
to call it Dutch fries.
At the very end of my visit I took a one-hour long trip by bus to
open-air museum in Zaanse Schans. It has a collection of authentic
well-preserved windmills, each with its very own story, contribution and explanation
of the usage of it in the past. I experienced the ancient method of production of flour, paint or log as the giants (as Miguel de Cervantes would have said) revealed their skeleton before my own eyes while chewing on
To top it off, Amsterdam is definitely a city that will not stop surprising you. It has personality on its own and if you let him to, its charm will walk you through all pleasures of life.
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